Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/29-6/4)

Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review (written by Nash Walker) to catch up on the Twins week.

TRANSACTIONS 

• RHP Miguelangel Boadus promoted from FCL Twins to low-A Fort Myers.
• RHP Cory Lewis promoted from low-A Fort Myers to high-A Cedar Rapids.
• RHP Orlando Rodriguez activated from development list for high-A Cedar Rapids.
• RHP Pierson Ohl promoted from high-A Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita.
• RHP Regi Grace promoted from high-A Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita.
• RHP Chad Donato placed on AA Wichita's development list.
• RHP Seth Norlin released from the organization.

RESULTS

• Tuesday (5/30): Major Leaguers Pitch and Hit Saints to Victory
• Wednesday (5/31): Wallner Wallops the Baseball
• Thursday (6/1): Saints March In, Cedar Rapids Did What?
• Friday (6/2): Affiliates Struggle
• Saturday (6/3): Schobel Racks Up Four Hits in Average Night on the Farm
• Sunday (6/4): Zebby Deals and Schmidt Rakes

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Minnesota Twins 2019 Draft Retrospective: Late-Round Steals
• Edouard Julien Has a Blueprint to Work On
• Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - May 2023
• Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - May 2023
• Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2023
• Minnesota Twins 2020 Draft Retrospective: Raya Sunshine

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - TBD
• Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05PM CST) - TBD
• Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05PM CST) - TBD
• Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD
• FCL Twins @ FCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD
• DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies Red (10:00AM CST) - TBD 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 5-1)

• Overall: 32-23, 0.5 game ahead in the International League West. 
• Overview: An excellent week for the Saints took them from second-place into the lead and they’ll look to extend that league this week.
• 🔥: Matt Wallner has been on fire since being sent down. He had eight extra-base hits (with three home runs) with 10 RBIs among his 11 hits. 
• 🔥: Brent Headrick pitched ten innings across two starts, with 11 strikeouts and four walks. He allowed three runs on 10 hits.
• 🥶: Mark Contreras struck out 11 times and went 5-23.
• 🥶: Randy Dobnak made a start and threw 4 1/3 innings allowing seven hits and four walks. He struck out two.
• What's Next: The Saints host the Iowa Cubs (31-23) in a battle for a first-place in the division.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 1-5)

• Overall: 21-29, 13.5 games back in the Texas League North.
• Overview: A rough week for the Wind Surge dropped them four games further back in the standings. 
• 🔥: Curtis Taylor pitched 4 1/3 perfect innings over two relief appearances.
• 🔥: DaShawn Keirsey led the team with seven hits and four stolen bases. Yunior Severino and Alex Isola both hit two home runs. 
• 🥶: Aaron Rozek, Travis Adams and Chad Donato all struggled in their starts this week. Donato lasted five innings, but gave up six runs. Rozek gave up four runs in 2 2/3 and Adams gave up two runs in one inning.
• 🥶: Seth Gray got a hit in a one-game mid-week cameo for St. Paul, but went 0-11 for the Wind Surge this week. He struck out six times.
• What's Next: Wichita will head to San Antonio (27-24) who sits a top of the South Division. 

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Week: 4-2)

• Overall: 29-22, 2.0 games up in the Midwest League West. 
• Overview: A four-win week - highlighted by a 24-run performance on Thursday - keeps the Kernels in first place.
• 🔥: Kala’i Rosario keeps crushing it for the Kernels. He had four home runs on eight hits and drove in nine runs.
• 🔥: Tanner Schobel deserves his own fire emoji too. He had 14(!) hits in 29 at-bats this week, including two home runs. He drove in 10 and scored seven runs.
• 🔥: Zebby Matthews made his first start at High-A and was great. He struck out six in six innings, only allowing three hits and one run (on a home run).
• 🥶: Misael Urbina went 1-for-19. He appears to have been a victim of BABIP, as only three of his 18 outs came via strikeout.
• 🥶: Christian MacLeod gave up four hits and four walks in four innings. He only allowed one earned run (a home run), but putting two runners on per inning is not a recipe for success.
• What's Next: The Kernels travel to Dayton (26-25). Dayton is 8-2 in their last ten, so it will be a battle of two of the hottest teams in the league.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 3-3)

• Overall: 28-23, 8.5 games behind Clearwater in the Florida State League West. 
• Overview: The Mighty Mussels split with St. Lucie, but lost two games in the standings.
• 🔥: C.J. Culpepper threw five shutout, hitless innings and struck out six. He did walk three.
• 🔥: Kyle Schmidt led the team with six hits (in only 12 at-bats) and five RBIs. He had three extra-base hits as well.
• 🥶: Cory Lewis walked three and only recorded two outs in his lone start of the week. 
• 🥶: Danny De Andrade, Carlos Aguiar and Jorel Ortega combined to go 5-51 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs, 11 walks and 22 strikeouts. Hopefully it’s a better week ahead for this young trio.
• What's Next: Clearwater (36-14) will come to Ft. Myers. Hopefully the mussels are mighty against the top team in the league.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. (Season-long stats will be in parenthesis.)

• 20. Michael Helman, UTIL, St. Paul: On the Injured List with a dislocated shoulder. (.333/.434/.711. 1.145 OPS)
• 19. Yunior Severino,
• 3B, Wichita: 6-20, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K. (.282/.359/.540. .899 OPS).
• 18. Jose Rodriguez, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 17. Blayne Enlow, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 4.91 ERA, 7.1 IP (two games), 4 H, 7 R (4 ER), HRA, HB, 3 BB, 13 K. (1.10 WHIP, .225 BAA)
• 16. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• 15. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 2-0, 2.70 ERA, 10 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 11 K. (1.41 WHIP, .285 BAA)
• 14.  Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 13.5 ERA, 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, HB, 5 K. (1.41 WHIP, .243 BAA)
• 13. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 2-19, 2 R, BB, K. (.204/.279/.282. .561 OPS), played shortstop in five games (40 total) and committed no errors in 15 chances (four errors in 166 total chances); played no games (six total) at second base (no errors in 16 total chances).
• 12. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: 4-18, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB, 4 K, SB. (.162/.240/.223. .463 OPS), played one game at shortstop (10 total) and committed no errors in four chances (three errors in 33 chances total), played one game (10 total) at third base no chances (three errors in 22 total chances). He played three games (21 total) at second base with no errors in 12 chances (one error in 84 total chances).
• 11. Austin Martin, SS: Martin has an arm injury, but is expected to resume playing shortly..
• 10. Yasser Mercedes, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 9. Matt Wallner , OF, St. Paul: 11-26, 4 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, BB, 5 K. (.299/.405/.577. 982 OPS); Minnesota: (.368/.520/.579. 1.099 OPS)
• 8. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, HRA, 3 K. (1.45 WHIP, .262 BAA)
• 7. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 4.15 ERA, 4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K (1.88 WHIP, .329 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 6. Marco Raya, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 2 H, ER, HRA, 4 K. (0.73 WHIP, .145 BAA)
• 5. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: On the injured list, but expected to resume throwing. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 4. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 4-11, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, R, 3 BB, 3 K. (.294/.447/.513. .960 OPS), has played all 30 games at second base and has committed two errors in 140 chances; Minnesota: (.210/.296/.435. .731 OPS)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 5-19, HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 2 SB. (.177/.338/.372. 710 OPS)
• 2. Royce Lewis, SS: (.333/.395/.692. 1.087 OPS), played one game (four total) at shortstop and committed no errors in four chances (no errors in 12 total chances). Lewis played one game (four total) at third base and committed one error in five chances (one error in eight total chances); Minnesota: 5-25, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 8 K (.200/.200/.480. .680 OPS), played five games at 3B (five total) and had no errors in 16 chances.
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 5-18, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 6 K, SB. (.262/.341/.415. .756 OPS), played five games (43 total) at shortstop and committed one errors in 18 chances (four errors in 179 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (as voted on by fans on Twitter)
PITCHER -  Brent Headrick, St. Paul (Headrick 50%, Matthews 22%, Culpepper 17%, Taylor 11%): I don't think Headrick is who I would have voted for, but it's nice to see that despite the injuries and the lack of progress from other AAA arms, that the Twins still do have some stater-depth in St. Paul. 

HITTER -  Matt Wallner, St. Paul (Wallner 90%, Rosario 6%, Schmidt 3%, Keirsey 1%): Wallner is on one of the best runs of a hitter in recent memory. After reaching base eight straight times with the Twins before being demoted, he handled the step down by absolutely crushing AAA pitching. Considering all the Kirilloff/Larnach talk coming into the season, it's now fair to say that Matt Waller deserves just as much publicity as anyone. 

Who would have been your picks? Any early season surprises or disappointments? Ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects in the COMMENTS below.